Delhi coaching centre deaths: UPSC aspirants sent two complaints before the incident, to no avail

Delhi coaching centre deaths : Following the death of three Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) aspirants in the recent flooding of a library inside a coaching centre, three complaints have come to light which highlighted the waterlogging woes in Old Rajendra Nagar.

Every other monsoon, the situation remains the same as was highlighted by a civil services aspirant from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, who used to study at one of the study circles in the area. 

Kishore Kumar Kushwaha, 29, is one of the many aspirants who took to studying at one of the libraries overlooking the UPSC coaching centre, Rau’s IAS Study Circle. 

Addressing the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Kushwaha had written a letter highlighting the problems with the coaching centre. 

“The Rau’s coaching centre is functioning from inside the basement without any permission or NOC. They have also set up illegal classrooms and test centres inside the basement which is putting the lives of students as well as faculty members in danger. I had taken the necessary complaint to the concerned authority and they told me that money is being paid to the MCD, which is setting a narrative of corruption inside the civic authority. It is my humble request to you to take strict action against such major UPSC coaching institutes which are running classes illegally at the price of placing the lives of students at risk,” read his letter to the MCD which had been filed on June 26.

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According to the status of the complaint, Kushwaha had sent two reminders, one on July 15 and the other on July 22. 

The reminder on the former date read, “Sir, it’s very important and urgent issue, take strict action,” while the latter read, “Sir, please take action, it’s an issue of student safety.” 

Following the reminder on July 15, the MCD referred the complaint to a Building Department officer from the Karol Bagh Zone, Kumar Mahendra, on July 18. Yet, the status of the complaint remained under process till the day of the unfortunate incident on July 27. 

Kushwaha told Patriot that he had seen multiple students go inside the basement and wondered, how they were maintaining them. 

“It was always a risk to their lives when the students entered the basement to study. I was just wondering if this is legal, especially since the building had been newly built and the entire stretch is low lying and water accumulates fairly easily in the area. This obviously makes it a health hazard for the students,” he said.

Another UPSC aspirant, Kanishka, had filed a complaint to the Public Works Department nearly three days before the unfortunate incident. 

Her complaint read, “The monsoon season is going on, and here in Karol Bagh, Old Rajinder Nagar the issue of waterlogging has been going on for the past two years. The (very hazardous) thing that is common is the cases of electrocution. There are many naked wires lying everywhere, a life-threatening sign for people. The issue is very concerning as we have seen many fatal cases in Delhi that (has) led to deaths. So it’s a very humble request to take immediate action for the safety concerns of the people.” 

The complaint had been filed on July 24, and the PWD had replied on the same day, stating that it had been forwarded it to the MCD Control Room. However, the only reply that came from the MCD was that they would be taking action shortly, according to the complainant. 

“We consider this a failure on the part of all the authorities. I have been studying here for only the past two weeks and I already know about everything that is going wrong here. I have tried to ask the authorities to take stringent action against the coaching centres which have flouted these norms but the corruption runs deep,” she said. 

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Consequently, following the tragic incident which led to the death of three aspirants, another complaint was filed by Avinash Dubey, another student. The letter, addressed to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), DY Chandrachud highlighted the living conditions of students as “living hell”. 

Reportedly, the letter mentioned, “Due to rain, the basement got filled with water and three students lost their lives. We have to walk in kneedeep drain water. Today students like us are preparing for (our exams) while living a life of hell.” 

He further wrote that the stormwater drains were ill-maintained and would often overflow, causing rainwater to mix with sewage.

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“Floodwaters and sewage sometimes enter homes also,” he noted. 

These problems were highlighted by multiple aspirants as well, as they highlighted that with every monsoon season, the streets would flood up and none of the authorities could be urged to take any action. 

“All of these libraries inside the basement get flooded every year and nobody acts upon any complaint made,” an aspirant said.